Williams F1, in legal proceedings, cannot sell its brand in Hungary

The Williams team is currently in a lawsuit with a Hungarian company of the same name. The issue erupted this weekend, upon the arrival of the Williams F1 Team in Budapest. The cause of the lawsuit is reportedly the legality of Williams F1’s merchandising in Hungary.

According to a small Hungarian company, based in Vecses south of Budapest, the commercial rights to the name Williams would belong to them 100%. It is a local court that allegedly gave permission to the Hungarian company to acquire the name Williams just before Hungary joined the European Union in 2004.

This jurisprudence prohibits the Williams F1 team from selling any merchandise in Hungary and thus at the Hungaroring circuit. The Hungarian consumer association has already banned the sale of Williams F1 merchandise in Hungarian shops and reportedly even tried to prevent Williams from wearing their own outfits at the Budapest circuit. The team is not allowed to use its brand within Hungarian territory.

« We are aware of the situation but we do not offend anyone by wearing our usual clothes. » comments a spokesperson for the Grove team. « We are also aware of the judgment rendered in 2008 by a Hungarian court and we do not contest it. Moreover, we do not sell our merchandise on Hungarian territory. »

« However, our employees this weekend will wear the same outfits as usual. We do not sell our clothes to our employees. There are no money transactions; it is included in their contract and no third party benefits from it. »

Vilmos Kortye, director of the Williams company in Hungary, informed the local press that Williams F1 had offered financial compensation to use its brand in Hungarian territory. The company refused, stating that it was the first to register the brand in Hungary since 1996 and that Williams F1 had never participated in a meeting organized with the Hungarian courts in 12 years.